This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 arising from an application for Automatic Dialing Method Using Caller Identification earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Dec. 20, 1995 and there duly assigned Serial No. 52606/1995.
The present invention relates to an automatic dialing method for a telephone system using a caller identification (ID), and more particularly, to a method of automatically registering a detected caller identification (ID) in a memory of a telephone system to optimally enable dialing of a telephone number corresponding to the detected caller identification (ID).
Caller identification (ID) is a feature provided by many conventional telephone systems. According to this feature, a caller""s telephone number is sent together with a ring signal during an incoming call. The caller""s telephone number is then displayed for a user, so that the user can know who is calling before deciding to answer the call. As a result, the user can be prevented from wasting time or labour due to an unwanted telephone call.
Several prior art references discuss the concept of caller identification (ID) in a telephone system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,346 entitled Telephone Apparatus With Caller Identification issued to Miyamoto, for example, discloses a specific design for a telephone system employing caller identification (ID). In Miyamoto ""346, a decoder detects and decodes telephone number information of a calling side that is transmitted through a telephone line. A memory stores telephone number data of calling sides in correspondence with operation keys. When a call is received, a comparison circuit compares output data from the decoder with the telephone number data stored in memory. If a coincidence is detected between the output data of the decoder and the telephone number data in the memory, an output device notifies a user that the call corresponds to one of the telephone numbers stored in memory. While conventional art, such as Miyamoto ""346, provides a telephone system user with certain benefits, I note that it fails to automatically register caller identifications (IDs) in a manner so as to optimally facilitate an automatic dialing operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for detecting a caller identification (ID) provided with a ring signal, and automatically registering the caller identification (ID) in a memory of a telephone system.
It is another object to provide a method for automatically registering a detected caller identification (ID) in a memory of a telephone system according to a last in first out rule.
It is still another object to provide a method for automatically registering a detected caller identification (ID) in a memory of a telephone system to optimally enable dialing of a telephone number corresponding to the detected caller identification (ID).
To achieve these and other objects, the present invention provides a dialing method for a telephone system that begins by receiving a caller indentification (i.e., telephone number) of a party calling the telephone system. The received caller identification is then stored in a control buffer of the telephone system. A control unit of the telephone system determines whether the caller identification stored in the control buffer is identical to one of a plurality of existing caller identifications stored in a memory of the telephone system. When the caller identification stored in the control buffer is identical to one of the existing caller identifications stored in the memory, the existing caller identification that is identical to the caller identification is deleted from the memory. The caller identification is then transferred from the control buffer to the memory, and stored in the memory according to a last in first out rule. The caller identification is displayed on a display unit of the telephone system in response to a first input of a search key. Then, the telephone number corresponding to the caller identification is automatically dialed in response to input of a start key.